Clementia Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Montreal, said the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research has published online a study describing palovarotene's beneficial effects on spontaneous heterotopic ossification, mobility and skeletal growth in mouse models of fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP). Read More
Targedys SAS, of Rouen, France, disclosed a €5.8 million (US$6.5 million) series A round led by Seventure Partners, NCI and Pontifax, to support clinical studies of its products targeting high appetite for treating overweight patients and targeting low appetite for treating malnourishment in elderly people and in patients with cachexia and anorexia. Read More
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) sent a letter to Tom Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Thursday urging the CDC to use whatever resources are available to clear the current backlog of testing for Zika virus and to prioritize tests for women who are pregnant. Read More
With a declaration by the SEC that the registration statement filed by Scivac Therapeutics Inc. on its proposed merger with VBI Vaccines Inc. was effective, the companies are moving to complete the deal, expected early next month after VBI stockholders meet on May 5 to vote on the transaction. Read More
TOKYO – China's government and drug regulator is moving toward internationalization. And while the push may seem slow, the sheer number of reforms under way may be difficult to stay on top of for multinationals. Read More
A House subcommittee passed a bill for the FDA appropriations for fiscal 2017, but the budget bill faces opposition from House Democrats and the agenda-crowding scrum between Capitol Hill and the White House over monies for the fight against the Zika virus. Read More
Venture-backed orphan drug accelerator Cydan Development Inc. is taking on sickle cell disease (SCD) through the launch of its second new company, Imara Inc. Financed with a $31 million series A round from Cydan's syndicate, Imara will soon file an investigational new drug application for its phosphodiesterase 9 (PDE9) inhibitor, IMR-687. Read More
Enanta Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Watertown, Mass., reported data showing that patients with genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection who received the recommended regimen of North Chicago-based Abbvie Inc.'s Viekirax (ombitasvir/paritaprevir/ritonavir tablets) + Exviera (dasabuvir tablets), with or without ribavirin, achieved high sustained virologic response rates at 48 weeks post-treatment, regardless of the presence of baseline resistance-associated variants. Read More
